SLN personnel assault two fishermen

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 October 2002, 17:55 GMT]
Two fishermen were severely assaulted by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel Tuesday night when rough sea forced them to drift towards the high security zone of the Kankesanthurai harbour. Anandasivam Sivakaran (24) and Gopalasingham Ravikumar (24) of Supparmadam, Point Pedro, Wednesday morning complained to the Fisheries Co-operative Federation and to Valvettithurai office of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) about the assault.

The victims were originally residents of Myliddy north of Valigamam North but were later displaced to Supparmadam.

Recently the SLN arrested three fishermen on a charge of entering the high security zone of Kankesanthurai port. These fishermen were later produced before Mallakam Magistrate's Court.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Army has requested the management of the newly opened Multi Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) in Point Pedro to provide them the names of all employees and their personal details, sources said.

Military operations in the vicinity force the MPCS was forced to move from Point Pedro town in 1996. It was then housed in a private building at Thambaciddy. Recently, however, the SLA granted permission for the MPCS management to shift its headquarters and stores to the old place in Point Pedro town. A new building was constructed by management at a cost of Rs 2 million and opening ceremony was held on September 25.

As the new building is located in the Point Pedro high security zone, the SLA has taken steps to document the background of all employees of the MPCS as a precautionary measure, the sources said.